Project Overview
- Research topics
- Region: West
- Project Overview
Project status
- Completed :
- October 2020-March 2022
Project manager or
resource person
- Sherry Jones
- Staff Officer, Professional and French Language Services
Manitoba Teachers’ Society
Promoting the profession: encouraging high school and middle-year students in Manitoba to consider a career teaching in French
This three-year project aims to increase the number of French Immersion graduates who enrol in French language postsecondary programmes. Teaching is also being promoted as a viable and worthwhile profession to university students who have obtained an undergraduate degree.
As a first step, the Manitoba Teachers’ Society and the Éducatrices et éducateurs francophones du Manitoba (ÉFM), have hired two French immersion graduates who are currently undertaking postsecondary studies in French. They have developed an hour-long presentation for French immersion programmes in middle and high schools. The presentation underlines the advantages of pursuing one’s studies in French and the benefits of choosing a career in teaching. The facilitators also inform students about the process involved in becoming a French immersion teacher.
Initially, the project was designed around in-person presentations in schools. The project had to pivot towards virtual presentations because of pandemic restrictions.
Presentation targets:
- 2020–2021: 20 presentations were made
- 2021–2022: target of 32 presentations
Social media was used to generate interest in the presentations—notably to teachers from across Manitoba attending an MTS/ÉFM meeting. An article was also printed in the Inform-action magazine to raise awareness amongst public school teachers across the province.
Targeted Results
Main takeaways (learnings)
- It was advantageous to work with younger facilitators because they are skilled at pivoting to the electronic/virtual format.
- The pandemic created a certain amount of flexibility to innovate and do things differently.
- The facilitators are excellent at engaging students through creative means such as TikTok challenges, because they better understand the demographic.
- The facilitators have also been working with other organizations such as CPF which has made us more aware of what others are doing.
Potential/desired collaborations
- We all have similar goals.
- To promote the profession.
- To increase the number of teachers provincially and nationally.
- To support education students and ensure their success.
- To facilitate the transition of teacher candidates to teaching positions.
- For information sharing.
- To explore potential collaborations.
